St. Marks Evangelical Lutheran Church
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
I was the substitute teacher for the adult class last Sunday and the above Bible passage was one of the one’s we were looking at. The theme for the day was putting on the armor of God, particularly the “the shoes of the gospel of peace.” The Romans 5:1 verse was given as a text to describe what that peace might be like, but what was interesting was that the class focused the discussion on endurance. I found that surprising.
What triggered our discussion was how endurance seems to be a vanishing trait in our society. With the abundance of immediate gratifications available to us and the proliferation of sensory stimulations, endurance seems like too much effort. One of the teachers was describing how many students give up after the first failure to solve a difficult math problem. The endurance to keep on trying to find a solution isn’t there and the students simply conclude “I’m no good at math.”
What I found surprising about the discussion is that I had never really thought that much about endurance. In reflecting on the four-fold progression—affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope—endurance is the one I’ve thought the least about. I want to be a person of hope and good character. I certainly do not boast about my afflictions, but I have seen how they made me stronger. Endurance is just what you do.
What if, however, endurance is the whole key? Afflictions just come to us without our choosing them or wanting them. Hard stuff just happens. I think of all the people I know who endure the lifelong commitment of taking care of a disabled child, who refuse to let physical disability or infirmity confine them, or who patiently care for a spouse slowly dying of a progressive illness. These folks talk about their faith sustaining them and the hope they have in God.
Endurance is answering the same question twelve times in an hour from someone suffering from Alzheimer’s. It is rocking the colicky baby at two, three, and four in the morning. Endurance is working the stubborn math problem until you get it. Endurance is repetitious, slow to get results, and unseen.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-3
Peace,
Pastor Doug
